CHAMPCAR/CART: Pagenaud reflects on his first US race

Pagenaud makes big impression in first US race
French racer enjoys "wonderful party" atmosphere at Long
Beach
Indianapolis, IN (1 May 2006)---- Simon Pagenaud was a largely
unknown quantity before the first race of the 2006 Yokohama Presents...

Pagenaud makes big impression in first US race

French racer enjoys "wonderful party" atmosphere at Long
Beach

Indianapolis, IN (1 May 2006)---- Simon Pagenaud was a largely
unknown quantity before the first race of the 2006 Yokohama Presents The
Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season, but after
scoring pole position in the first qualifying session and finishing the
race in fourth, the young French racer has quickly established himself as
a talent worth watching this season.

Pagenaud, who narrowly missed out on winning the 2004 Formula Renault
Eurocup Championship to American Scott Speed, raced in the 425-hp World
Series by Renault at tracks like Monaco, LeMans, Monza, and Donington in
2005, scoring three top-fives in the highly competitive category.

Seeing inspiration in countryman Sebastian Bourdais, Pagenaud made the
decision to move from France to Indianapolis and contest the Atlantic
Championship with Team Australia for 2006, with a keen eye on moving to
the Champ Car World Series in 2007.

While Pagenaud faced many new challenges in his first weekend of racing
on U.S. soil, he was refreshed by the atmosphere in the paddock, and
relished the opportunity to shine in one of the continents best-known
events.

"The organization was really good, and in the paddock, you had fans
able to walk up and watch the crews working on the car, and get an
autograph from the driver," said Pagenaud. "It was really
different than anything in Europe. It was a wonderful party, and you
could tell why this is such a successful and long-running event-the
public is absolutely part of the race."

Pagenaud was also charged with having to quickly learn the Long Beach
circuit while fighting it out with one of the most talented pack of
hungry racers in the sport.

"When I got to Long Beach, I'd never seen the track, and
I'd only spent about half a day testing this car because I had a
stomach flu in the pre-season test," said Pagenaud. "So it
was a lot to take in and the track was even narrower in person than in
the in-car videos I'd studied before the race! But I was quite
pleased with the performance, particularly taking the pole in the first
qualifying."

Starting from the front row of the grid, Pagenaud filed in behind the
pole sitter and eventual winner at the start, and remained in the lead
pack during the entire race, but lost positions on two of the restarts,
something he knows he is going to have to improve on in the future.

"Yes, the racing was much different-in Europe, you win the race in
the first ten laps, but here, you can be fourth for thirty laps, and then
there is a safety period, and you get the chance to pass the three guys
ahead of you on the restart!" said Pagenaud. "I think the
restarts for me are something I am going to have to get used to-its
certainly something I need to get better at!"

Pagenaud will get the chance to test the Team Australia machine at
Houston Motorsports Ranch in the open Atlantic test in advance of round
two of the Atlantic Championship on the streets of Houston for the Fast
Trac 100. The event marks the return to the Houston market for Champ Car,
and with everyone in the field having to learn the track, Pagenaud sees
it as a great new opportunity.

"Learning a new track is not a problem for me, and since everyone
is going to have to do it this time, I think that could be an advantage
for me because some of the guys already knew the Long Beach track,"
said Pagenaud. "I also think that it's great that we will get
to test one more time before Houston, just so we can keep improving our
communication within the team, and learn as much about the car as
possible."

The on-track strength has come from some solid off-track communication as
Pagenaud develops some important relationships in his quest to perform
and move up.

"I am really happy to be racing with Team Australia," said
Pagenaud. "My engineer, Chris Yanchar, is very open-minded and even
though we have only worked together a little bit so far this season, we
have a good relationship already. He is a perfectionist just like me, and
that's very important. I think we will get stronger and stronger as
the year goes on and we get more confidence with each other and with what
the car is doing. The Atlantics program is a new one for Team Australia,
and I was impressed with how smoothly the weekend went."

Pagenaud is now forth in the Champ Car Atlantics Championship, and will
race round two on the weekend of May 12-14th.

The Champ Car Atlantic series will reward the 2006 series champion with a
significant $2 million dollar bonus towards a Champ Car campaign, and
will also feature a new car/engine combination with a new-design Swift
chassis mated to a 300-hp Cosworth.